Fun and fascination at our Fidelio fair

We’re DELIGHTED to announce that we are putting together a craft chocolate fair, with a bunch of tastings and talks, over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of December at Fidelio, Farringdon, London. We’ve James Hoffman talking about speciality coffee and craft chocolate, Tim Spector on craft chocolate, flavour and your microbiome, Bronwen Percival on the crafting similarities between Neal’s Yard cheese and craft chocolate, Tim D’Offay on tea, and much more.

Plus, we will be joined by a number of wonderful craft chocolate makers from all over the UK: Duffy from Cleethorpes, Dormouse from Manchester, Tosier from Suffolk, Chocolarder from Cornwall, and Pump Street from Suffolk. For those of you keen to see in person the craft chocolate delights of makers like Zotter, Fruition, Omnom, Menakao, Original Beans, Standout, Friis Holm, Qantu, and Fjåk we’ll be running a Cocoa Runners stall where you can check out their bars.

You won’t need tickets (or to pay) to come and meet the various makers; so do please come and say hi!

However, please note that the tastings and talks are ticketed, and paid-for events. And many of the speakers will also be available to e.g. sign and sell their books and coffees, teas, etc.

We’ve almost finalised the full events listing, but we’ve still a few that we are finalising; especially some kids’ events. And here is a taster list, and please note that you can start purchasing tickets from today:

• Professor Tim Spector will be discussing nutrition myths and, as well as tasting with you a bunch of bars, explaining why craft chocolate can help your microbiome,
• Coffee and craft chocolate with coffee expert, the UK’s first World Barista Champion, and co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters, James Hoffman will be exploring the links between speciality coffee and craft chocolate,
• Rebecca Palmer of Corney & Barrow, one of the oldest independent wine merchants in the UK, will reveal how to pair wines with craft chocolate, and even showing how orange wines can work brilliantly with milk chocolate,
• Joanna Brennan of Pump Street will be showcasing some of Pump Street’s amazing pastries and chocolates, and discussing their synergies,
• Bronwen Percival, from Neal’s Yard Dairy and London Gastronomy, will conduct a cheese tasting and discuss the similarities with craft chocolate in terms of fermentation, crafting, ageing, and more,
• Tim D’Offay from Postcard Teas will be pairing some of his unique leaf teas with his favourite craft chocolates.

Plus, we will be running more “how to taste” sessions, and some fun activities for kids. And watch out for a couple of additional tastings and talks that we haven’t quite yet finalised.

One note: Again, the fair is free to attend, but all these talks will be ticketed and paid events (plus refunds will only be offered if we can resell the tickets). We’ll send out confirmation of your purchase for the events immediately, and then nearer the time will follow up with more details and how to join, what to expect, etc.

Just over ten years ago Simon and I launched Cocoa Runners online at a chocolate fair in Olympia. We love the way that online means we can reach anyone with internet access with information about craft chocolate; and that we can deliver to (almost) everywhere bars from over 150 different makers and growers from all over the world. We love the flexibility and breadth it offers us, and we love that virtual tastings give us a way to reach out to even more people.

However, there is something really magical about getting together in person. And we are super grateful to all the speakers and makers who are going to be joining us on the 2nd and 3rd December; and really hope to see you there!

Keep savouring!

Spencer